Ichinomiya Nagatsune

Place: Echizen Province

Born: 1721

Death: 1786

Biography:

Ichinomiya Nagatsune was born on the fifth day of the fourth month of Kyōhō six (1721) as the son of a sake dealer in Echizen province. Early on, he was adopted son of a Kyoto kinko artist. He was a Kyoto artisan who rivaled Yokoya Sōmin of Edo. Nagatsune, who studied painting with Ishida Yūtei, the teacher of Yokoya Sōmin. He is considered one of the three great metalworkers of Kyoto kinko. He was known for his work on sword guards (tsuba) and menuki. His work is highly valued and collected by institutions such as the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Walters Art Museum.